Chapter 8
“If the two of us are to continue living together, I think we both need to make changes, otherwise our marriage will continue to have problems.” Since they were discussing the issue of their marriage, Qiao Wei did not avoid it and frankly spoke her mind.
Yan Lei raised his eyelids to look at her: “What do you want to do?”
“I want a job,” Qiao Wei said.
Based on the information she understood, Yan Lei’s salary and benefits were indeed very good, comparable to the elite white-collar or gold-collar class of later generations, such as an Ali P8. But so what? Qiao Wei was still not used to holding out her hand to ask others for money.
The main thing was, there was no sense of security, really none.
Although divorce was difficult in this era, Yan Lei didn’t look like someone who wanted to or would divorce. But the economic base determines the superstructure.
If one is held hostage by finances, one naturally ends up at a disadvantage.
It wasn’t that Qiao Wei wanted to achieve some great career, but at least she wanted a guarantee that she wouldn’t be financially coerced or forced to submit in important matters.
Actually, she never asked her father for money; she had sold her house, and that money was enough to pay for her medical expenses until she died. But the other party clearly didn’t understand this situation; his cold abandonment of her must have been related to money.
Having it yourself is better than anyone else having it. In this era, having your own salary makes your backbone stiff.
Yan Lei, however, was skeptical: “If I arrange a job for you, can you handle it?”
There was a historical reason for this. After she got married and followed him to the Military Unit, it wasn’t that he hadn’t arranged a job for Qiao Weiwei, but she couldn’t stand it after working for only two months.
Previously, she had also worked as a laborer in her father’s factory for half a year and found it unbearably bitter. She couldn’t endure hardship, nor was she good at socializing. Even though she had graduated from high school and was educated, and was clearly a child of the working class, she had an inexplicable sense of superiority in her bones, along with some very obvious petty-bourgeois airs.
Qiao Wei could completely understand Yan Lei’s skepticism.
Because the original owner had a secret. Her background appeared to be that of a red-rooted working-class child, but that was because everyone only looked at her grandfather, father, and mother; no one knew what her grandmother’s background was.
The original owner’s grandmother was actually a wealthy young lady who had fallen on hard times. During the chaotic war years, she was displaced and saved by the original owner’s grandfather, and she married him.
Later, when the original owner was born, her parents were busy supporting the family, and she was raised by her grandmother. This young lady from the old society subtly influenced the original owner, both in terms of lifestyle habits and spirit.
Actually, those demands of the original owner were, in Qiao Wei’s view, simply too common and too normal. But because she was in this era, those demands seemed incompatible with the simple masses.
She could only sigh.
Considering the characteristics of the era, Qiao Wei pondered for a moment and honestly admitted: “If you arrange for me to swing a sledgehammer in a factory, I definitely won’t be able to stand it.”
The man snorted through his nose.
Qiao Wei said: “I hope the job I can do is preferably clerical or administrative. I am good at handling text.”
She looked at him with expectation in her eyes.
Male leads always have a male lead halo, which includes not just appearance and physique, but also capability.
Later, after Lin Xixi married Yan Lei, it was a smooth, satisfying story all the way through. Presumably, arranging a suitable job for her or something similar was something he could definitely handle.
Yan Lei pondered for a moment and asked: “Do you really have to work? The family isn’t short of money or coupons.”
Qiao Wei felt that deep down, he still had some old-fashioned ideas about men working outside and women managing the household. But he was an old-fashioned antique from decades ago, so it was normal for him to be like this.
She told him: “If a person doesn’t have something to pin their spirit on, it’s very easy to let their imagination run wild.”
Yan Lei paused and looked at her.
Qiao Wei did not evade and looked back at him.
Yan Lei asked: “If you have things to do, can you guarantee that you will be steady in the future?”
That was quite a thing to say.
Qiao Wei said: “Having things to do will definitely make life much more fulfilling, but if two people don’t communicate well and keep everything bottled up, there will definitely still be problems.”
“Communication…” Yan Lei scoffed, a hint of hostility surging between his brows, “I try to communicate with you, but do you ever pay attention to me?”
This was another mess left by the original owner. The original owner truly didn’t pay attention to him.
Qiao Wei was speechless for a moment, then sighed and said: “Yan Lei, can you… just pretend that the me from before today is dead?”
“Just pretend that starting from today, I am a stranger you have never known, okay?”
“Let’s get to know each other from the beginning, okay?”
Yan Lei felt that the woman in front of him had really changed.
She seemed to be opening a door to him. And in the past few years of their marriage, she had kept that door tightly shut.
Qiao Wei’s eyes were crystal clear and bright, waiting for his answer. Yan Lei was used to exchanging coldness with her and was a bit unaccustomed to this expectant look in her eyes.
He reached out to pick up the cigarettes on the windowsill of the partition wall and lowered his head to bite one.
This movement was smooth and fluid, very masculine.
But before his hand could reach the matchbox, Qiao Wei stepped forward and pulled the cigarette from his mouth: “Don’t smoke in the bedroom.”
Yan Lei was stunned.
She took the cigarette case from his hand and stuffed the cigarette back in: “The first thing I’m communicating with you, listen well: don’t smoke in the bedroom. My minimum threshold is the living room; of course, it’s best to go outside to smoke. Absolutely not in the bedroom; textiles get stained with the smell of smoke and take a lot of effort to wash out.”
She raised her eyes: “Comrade Yan, can you do that?”
She raised her chin slightly; her face was no longer pale and haggard as it had been during the day, but had become pinkish-white, and her lips were even more rosy.
Yan Lei suddenly felt that a woman wearing a man’s shirt was a subtle and wonderful thing. It felt like something was scratching at his heart, making him restless.
This feeling, he had only experienced it back when they were newly married.
Later, it became a stagnant pool.
Yan Xiang’s voice rang out at this moment: “Mom~”
“Coming—” Qiao Wei responded through the door, “Wait a moment~”
Yan Lei took the opportunity to take the cigarette back from Qiao Wei’s hand, pondered for a moment, and promised her: “I’ll think of a way regarding the job.”
Qiao Wei became happy: “Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Her eyes curved, and this smile finally matched her age; she was only twenty-two, after all.
Before, she was always sullen and listless, making people forget that she was four or five years younger than him and still so young.
Yan Xiang called out again from outside. Qiao Wei opened the door to go out, but Yan Lei called out to her, and she turned to look at him.
Yan Lei said: “There are two things, one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.”
“The good news first,” Qiao Wei said. She didn’t like to hear the bad news first.
Yan Lei said: “There is news from above that the town is going to be merged into the county. In the future, it will all be connected.”
When Qiao Wei heard this news, the first thing she thought of was: “Then that should strengthen the construction of infrastructure, right? Is there any news that has a direct benefit to us?”
Yan Lei didn’t expect her to think of that point. He said: “I heard they will open a Department Store.”
Qiao Wei had come from the city. From the city to the town was a big downgrade for her, and indeed, the various conditions in the town could not compare to the city. She looked down on everything in the town.
Only the county seat had a Department Store, and only cities and provincial capitals had Department Stores. The town was the same as the countryside, having only a Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and the variety and styles of goods were much worse than those in Department Stores. It was always chasing the tail of fashion from the provincial capital and big cities, but could never catch up.
The original owner always went specifically to the city’s Department Store to buy clothes.
Yan Lei added: “They might install tap water.”
Because she married him, his wife followed him from the city to the town, changing from using tap water to using pond water, which she couldn’t drink at all and would make her retch. The river beach was far away, and she couldn’t carry water buckets. Fortunately, the Military Unit had tools, and his comrades had borrowed them to dig hand-pump wells in their own yards. He had also dug one, which solved the water problem.
But she had always been very resentful of life in the small town and always wanted to return to the city.
Yan Lei felt that if his wife ran away, the man was only one of the reasons; another reason was that she truly disliked this place. If the infrastructure could keep up after being merged into the county, perhaps she wouldn’t want to leave so much.
Upon hearing this news, Qiao Wei was naturally happy.
Theoretically, an administrative upgrade would drive infrastructure and economic development. In this day and age, we won’t talk about the economy, but infrastructure would definitely get a boost.
Whether it’s building roads, constructing buildings, or even building toilets, it’s all a good thing.
She had already used the toilet today. The benefit of a rural detached house is that you don’t have to go out to use a public toilet like the residents in the hutongs in TV dramas; there was a low, covered small house in a corner of the yard, which was a dry toilet.
Although it was a dry toilet, it was better than going out to use a public toilet. Public toilets were also dry toilets, and you had to socialize with people while excreting. A row of pits, without even a partition board.
“Then what’s the bad news?” Qiao Wei asked while holding the door.
Yan Lei paused for a moment before saying: “There is news that… universities might not be enrolling students in the future.”
He knew that his wife had always been obsessed with wanting to go to university. He didn’t know if telling her this news would make her feel like her dream was shattered.
Given her previous personality and mental state, he felt it would be a huge blow.
Who would have known that Qiao Wei only froze slightly, said “Oh,” and then said: “Is that so…”
She roughly knew this history; she just didn’t know the specific years and events, but she knew the general trend.
She thought for a moment and said: “In the future, if there are any policy matters like this, you had better tell me in time.”
Yan Lei seemed a bit old-fashioned and chauvinistic. Qiao Wei was afraid he wouldn’t take her words to heart, so she added: “Policies change all the time; if you tell me in time and I understand more, it can effectively prevent me from saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing, which could have a bad impact on you.”
In a few more years, let alone doing the wrong thing, even saying the wrong thing would be very serious.
Yan Lei’s gaze was deep.
Outside, Yan Xiang called again: “Mom~”
“Coming, coming!” Qiao Wei pushed the door open and went out.
Yan Lei took out that cigarette again, put it in his mouth once more, picked up the matchbox, paused, held the cigarette between his fingers, and also pushed the door open and went out.
Once in the yard, he lit the cigarette. He sat on a bench, smoking and watching Qiao Wei take Yan Xiang to wash his face and brush his teeth.
She was very gentle, much gentler than before, and seemed to have a great deal of patience.
Wearing his large shirt, when she bent down, all he could see were her legs, straight and white.
It was hard to imagine that just a few days ago, she had decided to abandon her husband and child. Was it because she had fallen hard outside and learned a lesson, and thus learned to cherish what she had?
She said to pretend that the her from yesterday was dead, and today was a brand new beginning.
Watching Qiao Wei and Yan Xiang finish washing up and go inside holding hands, Yan Lei threw the cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it fiercely.
He hoped she would do as she said.
He also went to wash up and rinsed his feet; summer was convenient, and he even wiped his body with a wet towel, returning to the room feeling fresh and clean.
In the east room, the sound of Qiao Wei telling Yan Xiang a story could be faintly heard.
The person was still the same person, but there was always a feeling that the way she spoke and acted was different. He didn’t know exactly where it was different.
Yan Lei returned to the bedroom, turned off the light, and lay down.
After a while, he suddenly opened his eyes—in the darkness, someone came in on tiptoe.
Yan Lei kept his eyes open, watching that person rustling in the darkness as she took off that large white cotton shirt, wearing a cropped undershirt, and lay down beside him.
“You…” He closed his mouth again.
Qiao Wei raised her head: “What’s wrong?”
Yan Lei turned over, back to her, and said in a muffled voice: “Nothing.”
They hadn’t shared a room or a bed for a long time. She had always slept in the east room with their son.
Why did she come over today?
Has she truly repented?!
